By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

RESERVE – South Central Louisiana Technical College offered students enrolled in a job-seeking skills course a rare chance to receive valuable constructive criticism from real employers.
Students of the Jobs 2450 class participated in mock job interviews with actual hiring managers from local industries such as International-Matex Tank Terminals, Monsanto and DuPont this week. During the interviews, students were graded on criteria such as personal appearance and their response to questions. Other participating industries included Noranda Alumnium, Nucor, Motiva, Entergy and Valero.
In addition to the mock interviews, students in the course learned essentials conducive to applying for, evaluating and terminating a job, such as: preparing a personal resume, writing a letter of application, completing a job application form, conducting a
job follow-up and writing a letter of resignation.
“The college produces process technician operators for the local industry. They go through this program for a semester so they can take the knowledge they gather and get a job. Because it doesn’t matter how much you know, you still have to get through that interview process,” said course instructor Penny Freeman.
Student Brad Plattsmier said the course has left him feeling pretty well-prepared to get into the job market. Plattsmier also mentioned what he’s learned about writing a resume and making it look more appealing to employers. He said the mock interview process is valuable because it helps students get an idea of the type of questions that come up during interviews and also helps build conversation skills.
“I didn’t know what they were looking for. I have plenty of information, but I know now to take out a lot of it and kind of consolidate it to make it more pleasing to the eye,” he said.”They’re going to ask you whatever they feel like asking. From what I understand there’s three guys in there spit-firing questions, and you have to be on your feet,” he continued.
The job-seeking skills course is mandatory to all students in their final semester at the South Central Louisiana Technical College.